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Charles Lloyd (left) and Ravi Coltrane
Charles Lloyd (left) and Ravi Coltrane
10/06/2015

2016 Portland Jazz Festival announces lineup: Theme – John Coltrane @ 90

This is from our friends at PDXJazz. We’ll have much more as we get closer to the festival. — OMN

2016 Lineup Set For Biamp PDX Jazz Festival
John Coltrane @ 90 Celebrates 13th Annual Gathering of Living Legends,
NEA Jazz Masters, Established and Emerging Artists
Headliners Ravi Coltrane, Charles Lloyd, Dianne Reeves
Compliment Tributes to Alice Coltrane, Elvin Jones,
Freddie Hubbard, Wes Montgomery, Joni Mitchell

Charles Lloyd (left) and Ravi Coltrane

Spanish Harlem Orchestra, Sonny Fortune, Sullivan Fortner to Open
Plus Rare Performances by Spanish Harlem Orchestra, Sonny Fortune, Sullivan Fortner
Special Double Bills: Spanish Harlem Orchestra, Sonny Fortune, Sullivan Fortner
Saxophone Summit Supreme: Orrin Evans Trio with
JD Allen, Jimmy Greene, Devin Phillips
John Scofield & Joe Lovano Quartet
Set For Historic Reunion Festival Finale

The 13th Annual Biamp PDX (a new main sponsor) Jazz Festival will tun Thursday, February 18 through Sunday, February 28 with 30 featured concerts at venues throughout the Portland metro region. Tickets exclusively available to PDX Jazz members beginning October 4, and to the general public November 2.

This year’s 11-day celebration will also boast the second annual Jazz Forward Competition, a high school competition drawing students throughout the western region. In partnership with Portland State University, the JFC was created to establish a scholarship program in the tradition of other prestigious regional events held in Reno, Nevada; Monterey, California and Moscow, Idaho. Finalists will compete in seven categories (two college level solo categories have been added) and the winners will receive main stage exposure.

The thematic centerpiece performances are two For Portland Only concerts featuring special guest Ravi Coltrane in celebration of his father’s 90th birthday and mother’s influence and artistry.Friday, February 26, The Africa Brass Ensemble, under the direction of Portland Jazz Master Charles Gray, will re-imagine the five singular pieces from John Coltrane’s debut impulse! sessions. Anchoring this performance is Philadelphia pianist and McCoy Tyner inspired, Orrin Evans and his esteemed rhythm mates. On Saturday, February 27, Ravi will pay tribute to his revered mother, Alice Coltrane, in a highly anticipated program titled, Universal Consciousness, featuring Reggie Workman (a prominent collaborator with John and Alice Coltrane), pianist Geri Allen (she and Alice are both Detroit natives), harpist Brandee Younger and drummer Andrew Cyrille.

Coltrane’s mastery will be reflected through legacy performances in special groupings through tribute projects: Gary Bartz (Coltrane Rules) and Javon Jackson/Jimmy Cobb (We FOUR); Olé Coltrane featuring the Bobby Torres Ensemble with special guest Azar Lawrence, the West Coast debut of Reggie Workman’s RW WORKz, and a week-long residency of nightly Coltrane tributes from top Portland performers.

Coltrane will also be explored through his association with Elvin Jones around a seminal project titled Puttin’ It Together, featuring Jones’ celebrated sidemen Sonny Fortune and Azar Lawrence, led by Portland icon Alan Jones (no relation). Fortune, a Philadelphia native, will make his Portland debut as a leader on the Festival’s opening night at Jimmy Mak’s. Coltrane’s stellar collaborations with guitarist Kenny Burrell and lesser known work with Wes Montgomery will be will be honored in two programs: Freight Trane featuring Dan Balmer under the direction ofTony Pacini and West Coast Blues, under the leadership of Portland drummer Mel Brown with special guest guitarist and former impulse! recording artist Henry Johnson. The Festival will also pay homage to the historic Saxophone Summit – which originally featured Michael Brecker, Joe Lovano, and David Liebman and later Ravi Coltrane. Recast For Portland Only as the Saxophone Summit Supreme, the Orrin Evans Trio will be joined by JD Allen, Jimmy Greene and Devin Phillips. Allen will also collaborate on another program with Evans’ Trio billed as The Classic Quartet.

“We are presenting music for the first time during the Festival at Revolution Hall, Alberta Abbey and Al’s Den. We look forward to nine exciting shows at Jimmy Mak’s, including the anticipated return of Portlander Nicole Glover, our popular PDX Piano Perspectives series including Chano Domínguez, Brandee Younger, David Goldblatt, Aaron Goldberg and the American Pianist’s Association’s 2015 Cole Porter Fellow – Sullivan Fortner. Six shows at the Newmark and three at the Winningstad Theatres, complimented by free Jazz Conversations, music in the Art Bar Atrium of P5, and various hotels and restaurants throughout the downtown corridor,” concludes Lucoff.

Saxophone Summit Supreme feat.
Jimmy Greene, JD Allen and Devin Phillips with the
Orrin Evans Trio
February 28 | 3:00pm
Metropolitan Ballroom at the Eastlund Hotel

Michael Brecker, Joe Lovano and Dave Liebman formed the Saxophone Summit in 1999 to explore the various styles of John Coltrane and began recording as a collective in 2004 with Gathering of Spirits. When Brecker passed in 2007, Ravi Coltrane joined the group and they subsequently recorded Sephardic Light and most recently Visitation. Greg Osby recently replaced Ravi and the Collective continues to be seen and heard when schedules permit. The Saxophone Summit Supreme, a For Portland Only experience, will bring together three contemporaries: Jimmy Greene, JD Allen and Devin Phillips backed by the illustrious Orrin Evans Trio. Their choice of material will run the gamut of Coltrane’s songbook and the colleagues that he collaborated with.

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